1^st lesson free

Darran

5 (2 reviews)

Rate ₱9,372
Response 1h
Students
Number of students Darran has taught since their arrival at Superprof
4
Number of students Darran has taught since their arrival at Superprof

5 (2 reviews)

₱9,372/h

1^st lesson free

Literacy
English Literature

Experienced tutor in Literacy in Federal way, Darran offers private lessons tailored to your needs.

Literacy
English Literature

Lesson location

- online

About Darran

We are a team that is passionate about helping students discover what they are looking for in a college – and find the right fit.

Please email us directly at (concealed information) as the this website listing is used solely to provide information to prospective students. We do not respond to this website messages.

Working together with students and parents, we advise with college selections, evaluate families’ college financing options, facilitate essay writing, and create a strategy for compelling applications .

Our students have been accepted to highly selective national institutions, liberal arts and faith-based colleges, engineering schools, and public universities, including Columbia, Stanford, Northwestern, WashU, Emory, Tufts, USC, Purdue, UC Berkeley, UT Austin, University of Washington, and Wheaton, to name just a few.

Ultimately, nothing gives us greater satisfaction than seeing students find their true college home.

Darran earned a BA from Colby College and an MAT (Master of Arts in Teaching) from Vanderbilt University. He has worked as a teacher and administrator in private secondary schools and as a corporate communications executive. He has been a college consultant and essay writing coach since 2016.

Li Er earned a BSc from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. She has worked in banking and as a financial and business consultant. She has been a college consultant and essay writing coach since 2019.

Together we provide each student and family with the benefit of our differing strengths, experiences and expertise. Along with our shared passion for the process.

Frequently Asked Questions:

1) Do you work in person? Online? Location? Time-Zone?

We are in the Greater Seattle area (PST) and are able to meet in person locally by arrangement, particularly for the initial session. But we generally communicate through FaceTime/Zoom and shared Google Docs and Sheets. We find that effective and efficient for all parties. And so no distance is too far!

2) How early do you start working with students? How late?

We focus on working with students in their sophomore or junior year but can begin the process as early as middle school with students and families who are ready to begin thinking seriously and actively planning for college. Students in their senior year are also considered, depending on their needs and circumstances.

3) What’s the first step in the process?

Email us to set up a complimentary initial consultation so that we can learn more about your needs and college interests. We can answer any other questions you may have about our services and the college application process.

4) What do you charge?

• $150 per hour for essay coaching and college consulting

• Please contact us for preferential pricing on college consulting and college essay packages.

5) What kinds of students do you work with?

The majority of students we work with are in the top 10% of their graduating class (in public and private schools) and are aspiring to attend elite and highly selective institutions. We have also enjoyed working, however, with motivated students who are seeking an optimal college experience. We see each student as unique and believe every young adult can benefit from a thoughtful and thorough application approach. Ultimately, finding each student the right fit is our gold.

6) How do you help students with college essays?

We first help with generating ideas for the main Common App (or Coalition App or equivalent) essay, as well as college-specific supplementary essays, through interactive discussions. Those then go through a rigorous, interactive editing process to reach a final draft, while coaching good writing techniques. We usually work with students individually but can do development work in groups.

The essays are also reviewed in context within the entire application. To that end, we also review the student's academic profile and extra-curricular activities so that the student can be seen as a whole in their application.

7) What kind of support do you give families for financing college?

After speaking with a family about their own unique situation, we provide information about various college financing options. Our focus is to educate families on the tools and options available to them, including the FAFSA and CSS Profile.

8) How do you help students and families decide which colleges to apply to?

We ask and listen. Then we ask more and listen more. Reviewing a student's activities and academic record, and through questionnaires and interviews, we seek to understand both the student's strengths and aspirations along with the family's needs and objectives. Using a 30+ point metric customized to each client, we then explore, discuss and shortlist specific colleges collaboratively. We help develop for each student a robust list of Reach, Target and Safety schools, with strategies for ED, EA and RD applications and considerations for institutional scholarships, need-based financial financial aid and merit aid.

About the lesson

Literacy lessons offered by Darran are tailored to each student's needs and level. Lessons can also be held online. Lessons are also available in Federal way. The first lesson is free to define learning goals and methodology.

Recommendations

Recommendations come from relatives, friends and acquaintances of the teacher

J

Joanne

Darran and Li-er were a godsend during my son’s college application and essay process. They were thorough, responsive, and attentive in providing line by line feedback on his essays. They truly made an overwhelming process feel manageable. They also caught important details we had overlooked and guided us through how to resolve some unexpected yet critical issues. I especially appreciated how well they work together—they are always in sync. Highly recommend. Ivy-bound thanks to their guidance—highly recommend!
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J
Joanne
Darran and Li-er were a godsend during my son’s college application and essay process. They were thorough, responsive, and attentive in providing line by line feedback on his essays. They truly made an overwhelming process feel manageable. They also caught important details we had overlooked and guided us through how to resolve some unexpected yet critical issues. I especially appreciated how well they work together—they are always in sync. Highly recommend. Ivy-bound thanks to their guidance—highly recommend!
K

Kate

Our family has worked with LiEr and Darran of Red Gateways for both of our childrens' college application seasons. They took the time we needed to give us an overall perspective on applying to college with our oldest, since we were new to the process. We decided after talking with them that an ala carte service, mostly for help with essays and managing application deadlines, etc. was best for our oldest since the course of study and several colleges had already been selected. We had their support and speedy communication from beginning to end.

With our second, we all decided for a more robust full-meal-deal with Red Gateway. Our son participated in several super helpful sessions with the two of them during spring of his junior year to help figure out what his preferences were in terms of a school and studies. The daunting list of thousands of schools and majors became smaller and focused. We were able to schedule a summer college road trip based on their suggestions. They also led him and other students in summer college essay workshops which helped a great deal to get the ideas flowing and so fall of senior year was not such a crunch. Knowing what schools he wanted to apply to before heading into senior year was so fantastic! Of course, there were changes of adding schools, etc., but LiEr and Darran helped us talk through those decisions too. They helped give pointers for essays and discussed with us who would be the best teachers and mentors to ask for letters of recommendations, etc.

Red Gateways equips, informs, and cheers you on, start to finish! As parents of current and former college grads, they know what is at stake, and they can help you see it all in perspective too! They are trustworthy, experienced, and wonderful to work with. All my thumbs are up!
Read more

K
Kate
Our family has worked with LiEr and Darran of Red Gateways for both of our childrens' college application seasons. They took the time we needed to give us an overall perspective on applying to college with our oldest, since we were new to the process. We decided after talking with them that an ala carte service, mostly for help with essays and managing application deadlines, etc. was best for our oldest since the course of study and several colleges had already been selected. We had their support and speedy communication from beginning to end.

With our second, we all decided for a more robust full-meal-deal with Red Gateway. Our son participated in several super helpful sessions with the two of them during spring of his junior year to help figure out what his preferences were in terms of a school and studies. The daunting list of thousands of schools and majors became smaller and focused. We were able to schedule a summer college road trip based on their suggestions. They also led him and other students in summer college essay workshops which helped a great deal to get the ideas flowing and so fall of senior year was not such a crunch. Knowing what schools he wanted to apply to before heading into senior year was so fantastic! Of course, there were changes of adding schools, etc., but LiEr and Darran helped us talk through those decisions too. They helped give pointers for essays and discussed with us who would be the best teachers and mentors to ask for letters of recommendations, etc.

Red Gateways equips, informs, and cheers you on, start to finish! As parents of current and former college grads, they know what is at stake, and they can help you see it all in perspective too! They are trustworthy, experienced, and wonderful to work with. All my thumbs are up!
View more recommendations

Rates

Rate

₱9,372

Pack rates

5h: ₱45
10h: ₱90

free lessons

This first lesson offered with Darran will allow you to get to know each other and clearly specify your needs for your next lessons.

online

₱9,372/h

Experienced tutor in Literacy in Federal way, Darran offers private lessons tailored to your needs.

Lesson location

About Darran

About the lesson

Recommendations

Rates

Rate

Pack rates

free lessons

online

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Experienced tutor in Literacy in Federal way, Darran offers private lessons tailored to your needs.

Lesson location

About Darran

About the lesson

Recommendations

Rates

Rate

Pack rates

free lessons

online

Other tutors in Literacy

Shiela Mae

Mary France

Azreil

Kaye

Amethy Belle

Stephanie Val

Marilou Chatto

Algepel

SAMSON,

Felomeno

Jhoanna Marie

Cortez

Zylyn

Dennis

Joan

Reny

ROSELL

Raquel

JACQUELINE

Sheila

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